Food Column: Puff pastry party

It’s the most wonderful time of the year.

No, I’m not talking about Christmas, which has its own charms, of course. I’m talking about prom, that night when high school kids pretend to be adults by dressing up in tuxedos and sparkly party dresses and dancing in the school gym until the clock strikes midnight.

It’s the clothes that I love the most. Every year, I try to eat out on prom night so that I can get an informal fashion show of the nervous boys and giggly girls in their party best. If I’m feeling especially mean, I rate them, to myself, of course.

Usually, it goes something like this:

“Oh, Honey. That dress is way too short. You are going to be pulling it down all night.” Or, “Oh, my, green sequins are really not your friend.”

The boys, though less fun to rank, are also interesting. Some are so nervous they look like they might throw up. Others spend most of their time making loud jokes with their guy friends than they do paying attention to their dates.

Of course, it’s nothing like when I went to my first prom 40 years ago. I was 6-feet three-inches tall and weighed roughly 160 pounds. Because such things were in fashion at the time, my blonde hair was a mess of stiff curls due to the perm I had recently gotten at a local salon.

While today’s boys typically wear a nice suit and tie to prom, the style in 1984 was for the guys to rent a tuxedo. I had wanted a slate-gray tux with a waistcoat, but the best they had was something that was light gray with a ruffled dickey.

So, to recap, I was a tall skinny blonde with fake curls in a gray tuxedo. In short, I looked like a Q-tip. But not just any Q-tip. I looked like a Q-tip with a gray dickey. Feel free to insert whatever nasty joke you want to here.

But I digress. My date more than made up for my ridiculous ensemble. She wore a lovely red dress, and we spent a nice evening dancing to hits from the 1980s with our classmates. At least, I think she had a nice evening. We’re still good friends 40 years later, anyway.

Given my experience, it’s unlikely that any prom-goer today would ever pay me much mind when it comes to planning a pre-prom party. That said, perhaps some of their parents — eager to make some simple yet tasty snacks— might be looking for my advice. Thus, I’ve decided to provide that advice.

And you know what that advice would be: puff pastry.

That’s right, puff pastry can be your best friend when it comes to preparing for the perfect pre-prom party (try saying that three times fast). You can use it for both sweet and savory snacks, making it incredibly versatile. It also comes with an air of elegance (at least it does in my house) that kids, looking to test the waters of adulthood love.

But what is puff pastry? If you’ve watched any of the popular baking shows on television, you know that it is a dough that contains many thin layers of fat (usually butter). When baked, the fat melts making the resulting product crispy and light.

The bakers on TV usually make their own puff pastry, but you don’t have to. Most grocery stores carry frozen puff pastry in the same case where they sell pies and phyllo dough, and using pre-made puff is a real time saver.

And if you don’t have a prom-going teenager at home, keep these recipes for your next party.

Puff pastry pigs in a blanket

This might seem like a juvenile thing to serve at a party, but I love them. The sausage combined with the crisp baked pastry is a very satisfying combination.

Of course, you can substitute hot dogs for the sausages if you like. Good sausage simply adds more flavor.

Ingredients

One sheet of puff pastry, thawed yet still cool

Nine fully-cooked sausages (I used Andouille)

Honey mustard

1 egg, beaten

Everything Bagel seasoning or sesame seeds

Directions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Roll the puff pastry sheet into a square that is 12-inches by 12-inches. Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 4-inch by 4-inch squares (you should have nine squares). Brush the bottom half of each square with mustard. Brush a strip along the top half with beaten egg. Place one sausage on top of the mustard side of the square. Roll it towards the beaten egg. Seal the dough. Slice each “pig” into thirds, and place on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and sausages. Brush each pig with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with the seasoning mix or sesame seeds.

Freeze or refrigerate for 30 minutes. While your pigs are chilling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Bake the prepared pigs in a blanket for roughly 25 minutes until puffed and browned.

Serve with more mustard or barbecue sauce.

Ham and cheese puff pastry pull-apart

Here’s another savory appetizer that your guests will love. It’s basically a ham and cheese sandwich in puff pastry form. Plus, because you cut it prettily, it always makes a statement on your appetizer tray.

Ingredients:

2 sheets of puff pastry, thawed but still cool

4 slices deli ham, torn into pieces

¾ cup grated Swiss or gruyere cheese

1 egg beaten with a teaspoon of water

Sesame seeds for topping

Parmesan cheese, shredded, for topping

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Find a bowl (or a plate) that is roughly the same size as your sheets of puff pastry. Use the bowl (or plate) as a template to cut a circle from the center of each sheet of puff.

Place one circle of puff on the baking sheet. Top with the ham and grated Swiss/gruyere cheese, leaving a half-inch border around the edge. Brush the edge with the beaten egg and water. Top with the second puff pastry circle. Press the edges together.

Place a glass or a round biscuit cutter in the center of the pastry circle. Do not cut through. Use a sharp knife to cut slits in the puff pastry circle about one inch apart. The slits should start at the glass or biscuit cutter and go to the edge. Once you’ve gone all the way around the circle, take two of the cut strips of dough and twist them together.

Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until puffed and lightly browned. Top with shredded Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Cherry and brie pastry cups

This recipe comes from Taste of Home, and it’s about as easy as it gets. Seriously, there are only 4 ingredients, and it can go from prep to table in roughly 15 minutes.

Ingredients

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but still cool

½ cup cherry preserves

4  oz. Brie cheese, cut into ½-inch cubes

½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a miniature muffin tin (you’ll be making 36 cups, and so you may need to use 2 tins).

Use a square cutter to cut the puff pastry into 36 squares. Press each square into the muffin tin. Bake the squares for 10 minutes. Once your cups are baked, you may need to press down the centers to make an indentation.

Spoon ½ teaspoon of cherry preserves into each cup. Add a cube of Brie followed by a sprinkle of nuts. Bake until the cheese is melted, 3-5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Michael Knock is a food columnist for the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Food Column: Puff pastry party